Naturally Dyed Wool

www.antiquariusimports.com/ lectures-wool.php

The Natural Properties of Wool:

1. Naturally absorbent and controls humidity on or near the human body.

2. A great insulator of heat and sound.

3. Soft and becomes softer with use.

4. A self-renewing resource which is biodegradable and safe for our environment.

Wool

'Over the Brae'

I have to travel over the brae to get to the next village. This wool has been caught in the barb wire for a few months now. There is certain seasons when sheep lose their wool both naturally and unnaturally.

The sheep shearing season starts on the 25th of May and finishes at the end of July. Working around Dumfries and Galloway through my work allows me to travel places which I would never usually come across. Each farm marks their sheep to keep track of their livestock, the colours vary from farm to farm.

Markers are also used when the sheep are wounded when being clipped by the shearers, so the farmer can keep track and treat the wound.

The use of marking interests me and I want to explore this further. Each farm has their own and area and use different ways to make this clear.

Jannis Kounellis

Unititled 1968

Wood and Wool

This work was made at the time of Kounellis’s first involvement with Arte Povera. The carefully dyed but loosely wrapped hanks of uncarded wool epitomise Kounellis’s choice of simple materials at this time. Linked with Arte Povera’s exploration of basic media, they also suggest Kounellis’s attraction to earlier civilisations. Although he had abandoned painting at this stage in his career, he later suggested that the structure of this work had been partly inspired by Jackson Pollock, with the hanging wool teased out to mimic dripped paint. (From the display caption April 2009)

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=21551&searchid=10270